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Board Gamers, show us your loot! (3 Viewers)

Is 1861 the Isle of Wight? Such a weird, fantastic game.

Edit - nope it's the Rooskies. Never played that one.
 
1861 is Russia, 1860 is Isle of Wight (not a big fan personally, the end game is like 2 steps too much of a pain in the ass)
 
Legend5555 said:
While it is on essence an "exchange stuff for points" type game (which I tend to avoid buying these days), it goes about it very differently than others. Here is my brief, yet not so brief, reasons as to why.

1. You don't actually exchange non-money resources for anything. Once you buy a resource (component as the game calls m), you just have it forever until you choose to get rid of it (which basically never happens).

2. It has programmed worker placement. Using assignment cards, everyone has to secretly designate where each worker is going to go (and there are only 6 places to go, one of which can't be blocked). Everyone then reveals simultaneously and then in turn order places a worker just like normal WP games. So you have a double layer of trying to outthink what your opponents want to do, and then after seeing what they are doing, prioritizing when to send each worker. As you get a varying number of action points at each location you can spend an actions there based on what order people arrive.

3. How the majority of points are earned. To get points you have to perform your tricks. And setting up your tricks for the performance is a mini game itself. There is also a nice euroy interaction mechanism involved as multiple players can set up tricks to be performed at the same time as other players. It's a nice bit of shared incentives. You can theoretically win the game by only ever having other players perform at certain theaters where your tricks are at and just piggyback. Never actually doing it yourself.

4. Special assignment cards. Everyone has an always available hand of cards that tell where your workers are going to go. But you can get special ones over the course of the game. Not only allowing you to send more workers to the same areas than you might be able to otherwise, but the special cards also offer strong and varied bonuses. From as simple as saving money on purchasing components for tricks, or forcing all tricks set up at the theaters to perform at the end of the round whether players want them too or not.

5. There are only 48 tricks in the game. Once someone has a certain trick, no one else can get it. And these are all available at all times (with exceptions regarding getting higher tier tricks). It's such a vital piece of the game that everyone has a pamphlet that shows you all of them so you can plan a path as often tricks have overlapping component requirements to some degree. It makes the game have a very rewarding balance of long term strategy and round to round tactics.

It also has two major expansions that really change up the game. One involves getting a set of power cards at the beginning of them game that give you can use throughout the game to give you a variety of special powers. Reminds me a bit of the cards in Agricola.

The 2nd which came out recently has two modules, one which is an easier to digest riff on the cards above, yet feels different. And a whole new way to earn points by teaching at a magician academy. It also includes a new worker that levels up during the game.

So there is a lot ton of stuff going on despite it's veneer of being just another "exchange stuff in for points" game.
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Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on Trickerion.
One guy in our group has Trickerion. We need to get it to the table. It sounds like a game we will really enjoy. For heavier type games, we like playing them twice at one setting. Much easier to get a feel for the game and lock in the rules. In years past, we would play a game like this only a handful of times spread out over many, many months (years?). Each play was essentially like a first play. Relearning rules and the flow of the game.

We are big Lacerda fans. Next week will be two games of The Gallerist.
 
Pawn38 said:
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on Trickerion.
One guy in our group has Trickerion. We need to get it to the table. It sounds like a game we will really enjoy. For heavier type games, we like playing them twice at one setting. Much easier to get a feel for the game and lock in the rules. In years past, we would play a game like this only a handful of times spread out over many, many months (years?). Each play was essentially like a first play. Relearning rules and the flow of the game.

We are big Lacerda fans. Next week will be two games of The Gallerist.
Click to expand...
If you like Lacerda stuff, then you will probably like Trickerion.
 
Pawn38 said:
In years past, we would play a game like this only a handful of times spread out over many, many months (years?). Each play was essentially like a first play. Relearning rules and the flow of the game.
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This is one of my current Great Regrets. I so rarely have time and friends to focus on and replay a small number of truly great games that I both enjoy and want to get better at.

A close friend is an absolute gaming fanatic, has several groups that meet regularly, but he's also a big-time member of The Cult of the New. So when I have a chance to join in one of his game nights, it's always to check out something that just came out. And usually they're great! But even the ones that would benefit from multiple plays get just one-and-done.

He also enjoys campaign games, RPG-style co-ops, so the games that do get repeat plays are the ones like that. Which is great, but it's not my cup of tea.

I'd like to take a game that I think I won't get bored with, and then play it with a group of friends until I do get bored with it. And the list of games that could fit that criteria is already as long as my arm.
 
CrazyEddie said:
He also enjoys campaign games, RPG-style co-ops, so the games that do get repeat plays are the ones like that. Which is great, but it's not my cup of tea.
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Same here. I kind of like them, but I can't commit to finishing stuff like that. Honestly, I would have played Gloomhaven more but the setup is just absolutely brutal.
CrazyEddie said:
I'd like to take a game that I think I won't get bored with, and then play it with a group of friends until I do get bored with it. And the list of games that could fit that criteria is already as long as my arm.
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I've played all my games 3 times, with a couple of exceptions. I'm pseudo cult of the new. But only because I don't get to play very often. But I've severely slowed down my purchases. I basically only buy with store credit I earn from occasionally trading in old magic cards.

But there are definitely some games I'd like to grind over and over some. Like Ginkgopolis, Palaces of Carrara, Barrage (even though I don't own it), and obviously Trickerion.
 
Legend5555 said:
But there are definitely some games I'd like to grind over and over some. Like Ginkgopolis, Palaces of Carrara, Barrage (even though I don't own it), and obviously Trickerion.
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Ginkgopolis & Palaces of Carrara have good online implementations.
Ginkgopolis on yucata.de
PoC on boiteajeux.net
 
Pawn38 said:
Ginkgopolis & Palaces of Carrara have good online implementations.
Ginkgopolis on yucata.de
PoC on boiteajeux.net
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I'm aware. I've played Palaces online before. I don't like playing board games online very much though. I dislike it even more when I'm playing online with people I don't already know in person.

Edit: clarified
 
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@Poker Zombie @CrazyEddie and all board game experts, what game(s) would you recommend to a group of 4-6 that really enjoyed:

Settlers of catan
Cranium
Taboo
Risk
Bang

And meh about:
Ticket to ride
Splendor
Avalon and other mafia type games
Monopoly deal
 
khp said:
what game(s) would you recommend to a group of 4-6 that really enjoyed:

Settlers of catan
Cranium
Taboo
Risk
Bang
Click to expand...
Here's a few off the top of my head. Low on rules overhead. 20-45 min games.

Camel Up - It's a fun, easy camel racing game. While it doesn't have the time element that Taboo has, there has always been plenty of yelling and cheering as the camels advance.

Sushi Go/Sushi Party - Fast moving game. Easy to score. You are eating at a sushi restaurant and trying to get the best combination of dishes to score points.

Between Two Cities - similar game mechanics to Sushi Go except you are a city planner designing two cities; one on your left and one on your right. The nifty gimmick for this game is you & the player on your left are building one city together. The same with the player on your right and your other city.
 
khp said:
@Poker Zombie @CrazyEddie and all board game experts, what game(s) would you recommend to a group of 4-6 that really enjoyed:

Settlers of catan
Cranium
Taboo
Risk
Bang

And meh about:
Ticket to ride
Splendor
Avalon and other mafia type games
Monopoly deal
Click to expand...

Sounds party-game oriented, and not too heavy or analytical and no social deduction (although Bang made the list, which is kinda social-deduction-y), but with room for some strategy games with light mechanics.

Instant recommendation: Time's Up.
Another strong contender: Codenames. This one has a little more thinky-analysis though.

If they like the gambling and bluffing aspects of poker, they might enjoy a pure bluffing game called Skull.

Wits and Wagers is a combination trivia game / gambling game - you bet on whose answers are correct, and you don't really even need to be good at trivia if you're good at guessing.

Cash and Guns is a real hoot. It's almost a social deduction game, but not really. It's a negotiation game that includes threats and bluffing. And you get to point foam guns at each other and yell a lot.

Modern Art is an auction game with pretty simple rules but it rewards people who can think on their feet and deal with numbers. It might feel a little dry for your group but it's definitely worth a play-through.

When it comes to strategy games, it's kinda hard to make recommendations if they like Catan but don't like Ticket to Ride since a lot of games in that general area are a lot like both of them. I'll do my best but these might be hit-or-miss for your group:

Carcassone
Bohnanza
Small World or its earlier incarnation as Vinci
Galaxy Trucker
Tiny Epic Galaxies
Eight Minute Empire
Cosmic Encounter
King of Tokyo

And here's some cooperative games y'all might like, where everyone wins together or loses together:

Fuse
Magic Maze
Pandemic

Not all of these games will play up to six players, but a lot of them will.

Before you spend money on any of these, watch or read reviews to see if you think they'll suit your group's style. But be adventurous! Even with reviews, you never really know what's going to score a hit with your players.

Good luck, and report back with your experiences!
 
CrazyEddie said:
Sounds party-game oriented, and not too heavy or analytical and no social deduction (although Bang made the list, which is kinda social-deduction-y), but with room for some strategy games with light mechanics.

Instant recommendation: Time's Up.
Another strong contender: Codenames. This one has a little more thinky-analysis though.

If they like the gambling and bluffing aspects of poker, they might enjoy a pure bluffing game called Skull.

Wits and Wagers is a combination trivia game / gambling game - you bet on whose answers are correct, and you don't really even need to be good at trivia if you're good at guessing.

Cash and Guns is a real hoot. It's almost a social deduction game, but not really. It's a negotiation game that includes threats and bluffing. And you get to point foam guns at each other and yell a lot.

Modern Art is an auction game with pretty simple rules but it rewards people who can think on their feet and deal with numbers. It might feel a little dry for your group but it's definitely worth a play-through.

When it comes to strategy games, it's kinda hard to make recommendations if they like Catan but don't like Ticket to Ride since a lot of games in that general area are a lot like both of them. I'll do my best but these might be hit-or-miss for your group:

Carcassone
Bohnanza
Small World or its earlier incarnation as Vinci
Galaxy Trucker
Tiny Epic Galaxies
Eight Minute Empire
Cosmic Encounter
King of Tokyo

And here's some cooperative games y'all might like, where everyone wins together or loses together:

Fuse
Magic Maze
Pandemic

Not all of these games will play up to six players, but a lot of them will.

Before you spend money on any of these, watch or read reviews to see if you think they'll suit your group's style. But be adventurous! Even with reviews, you never really know what's going to score a hit with your players.

Good luck, and report back with your experiences!
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As always, appreciate the thoughtful response!

I totally forgot about some of the games we’ve played.

Codenames is great, but for us it doesn’t have much replayability. Same with wits and wagers.

Small world is fantastic!

Will check out the others! Thank you!
 
Pawn38 said:
Here's a few off the top of my head. Low on rules overhead. 20-45 min games.

Camel Up - It's a fun, easy camel racing game. While it doesn't have the time element that Taboo has, there has always been plenty of yelling and cheering as the camels advance.

Sushi Go/Sushi Party - Fast moving game. Easy to score. You are eating at a sushi restaurant and trying to get the best combination of dishes to score points.

Between Two Cities - similar game mechanics to Sushi Go except you are a city planner designing two cities; one on your left and one on your right. The nifty gimmick for this game is you & the player on your left are building one city together. The same with the player on your right and your other city.
Click to expand...
We were lukewarm on sushi go. Totally forgot we played it. Will take a look at the other two! Thank you!
 
CrazyEddie said:
Sounds party-game oriented, and not too heavy or analytical and no social deduction (although Bang made the list, which is kinda social-deduction-y), but with room for some strategy games with light mechanics.

Instant recommendation: Time's Up.
Another strong contender: Codenames. This one has a little more thinky-analysis though.

If they like the gambling and bluffing aspects of poker, they might enjoy a pure bluffing game called Skull.

Wits and Wagers is a combination trivia game / gambling game - you bet on whose answers are correct, and you don't really even need to be good at trivia if you're good at guessing.

Cash and Guns is a real hoot. It's almost a social deduction game, but not really. It's a negotiation game that includes threats and bluffing. And you get to point foam guns at each other and yell a lot.

Modern Art is an auction game with pretty simple rules but it rewards people who can think on their feet and deal with numbers. It might feel a little dry for your group but it's definitely worth a play-through.

When it comes to strategy games, it's kinda hard to make recommendations if they like Catan but don't like Ticket to Ride since a lot of games in that general area are a lot like both of them. I'll do my best but these might be hit-or-miss for your group:

Carcassone
Bohnanza
Small World or its earlier incarnation as Vinci
Galaxy Trucker
Tiny Epic Galaxies
Eight Minute Empire
Cosmic Encounter
King of Tokyo

And here's some cooperative games y'all might like, where everyone wins together or loses together:

Fuse
Magic Maze
Pandemic

Not all of these games will play up to six players, but a lot of them will.

Before you spend money on any of these, watch or read reviews to see if you think they'll suit your group's style. But be adventurous! Even with reviews, you never really know what's going to score a hit with your players.

Good luck, and report back with your experiences!
Click to expand...
King of Tokyo has always been a good one for us...have yet to try Codenames, even though it was given to me for Christmas...:oops:
 
Eddie hit on a number of games I try to put into rotation, including Carcassone, Bohnanza, Wits and Wagers, and Ca$h and Guns.

Gaming tends to be pretty unique between individuals, their tolerance for different genres of games, the amount of luck vs skill, and complexity. There really isn't a magic bullet that will hit every player.
 
Poker Zombie said:
Gaming tends to be pretty unique between individuals, their tolerance for different genres of games, the amount of luck vs skill, and complexity. There really isn't a magic bullet that will hit every player.
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Very true, very true.

I wonder what the smallest "magic arsenal" would be - the fewest number of games where any random person is nearly guaranteed to enjoy at least one of them.

Monopoly
Catan
Agricola
Advanced Squad Leader
 
CrazyEddie said:
I'm frequently surprised (and partially dismayed) at how many board gamers don't enjoy or appreciate standard card games.
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My old (High school thru college) gaming group loved a game that would take all night and would practically require a degree in quantum physics to understand, but hated a game that could be played in an hour or relied on "simple mathematics". They would refer to these as "Beer and Pretzel" games, and held me in distain for even bringing them.

I tried poker with them once, and it lasted all of 5 minutes. Money was not involved though, so perhaps one more reason to always play poker with stakes.
 
Got a game of Ginkgopolis in with my wife and sister. Took it down 69 to 60 to 56. Such a great game. Nothing really like it.


20210808_210634.jpg
 
Lords of Vegas, as produced for conventions, to help boost sales.

It's hard to draw gamers into demoing standard sized board game. But a 6' game - they will wait for hours to get a chance to play.

...and yeah, the last 10 years have not been kind.
 
Poker Zombie said:
It's hard to draw gamers into demoing standard sized board game. But a 6' game - they will wait for hours to get a chance to play.
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Why are larger versions of games so much fun to play? I recall playing a game of chess with very large pieces (2-3 feet?) forty-ish years ago. I wanted a set so bad after that but Santa never came through.

Lords of Vegas is great. I was thinking of dusting it (along with the UP expansion) off for this weekend's game day with five or six players.
 
Pawn38 said:
Why are larger versions of games so much fun to play?
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It's tough to really say, but if I were to form a hypothesis, I would start with...
  • It makes you feel like a kid again. Like those times when you really had to stretch to reach the opposite side of a monopoly board.
  • Accomplishment. Again, a trait built into all kids who are just happy to push a button, because "they" made the sound. Moving a giant pawn feels like you did something.
 

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